The exquisite objects created by goldsmith and jeweler Peter Carl Faberg矇 and his studio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the aristocracy and nobility of imperial Russia are
considered to be some of the most refined examples of the jeweler's art of any age. Of greatest fascination are the extraordinary Easter eggs created as special commissions for the
Russian imperial family and other notable patrons - works that remain unparalleled in their ingenuity of construction and sheer beauty.
Accompanying a major exhibition Faberge Revealed represents a landmark for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and for Faberg矇 scholarship. The essays by G矇za von Habsburg and other
scholars present new findings on Faberg矇, his workshops, and the creation of these extraordinary objects. For the first time all items by or attributed to Faberg矇 in VMFA's collection are
documented along with the museum's significant holdings of other Russian decorative arts. Also included is a section on forgeries that bravely confronts this vexing question. Every object has
been splendidly re-photographed for this book - and the detailed photography alone should provide inestimable value for future Faberg矇 scholarship.
Richly illustrated with some 600 photographs, the volume documents an important collection bequeathed in 1947 to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts by Lillian Thomas Pratt, of Fredericksburg,
Va., the wife of General Motors executive John Lee Pratt. Her collection, assembled between 1933 and 1946, comprised several hundred creations by the Faberge workshops and by other Russian
imperial jewelers. These exquisite, marvelously crafted objects, range from the majestic jeweled imperial eggs to delicate jeweled flowers in vases to diamond-encrusted icons and tiaras, to
animal figures nimbly carved from precious stone.
Contents:
Introduction by G矇za von Habsburg
Chapter 1: The House of Faberg矇/by G矇za von Habsburg
Chapter 2: Behind the Scenes at Faberg矇: The St. Petersburg Workshops/ by Ulla Tillander-Godenhieim
Chapter 3: Faberg矇 and His Russian Competitors/ by G矇za von Habsburg
Chapter 4: Faberg矇 and His Foreign Competitors
Chapter 5: Mrs. Pratt's Imperial Easter Eggs / by Carol Aiken
Chapter 6: The Zarnitza Sailor and His Place in History / by Christel Ludewig McCaniess
Chapter 7: Faberg矇 and Grand Duchess Vladimir / by Alexander von Solodkoff
Chapter 8: Lillian Thomas Pratt and A La Vieille Russie: A Personal Relationship/ by Mark Schaffer
Chapter 9: Fauxberg矇 / by G矇za von Habsburg
Catalogue: Faberg矇/Other Makers/Forgeries
